[Task Based Language Learning And Teaching Rod Ellis Pdf Download
Iberio Ralda
Split into five parts, the book aims to give the reader a very wide overview and deep understanding of task-based language teaching from numerous perspectives. Ellis et al. take us on a journey all the way from theoretical perspectives to points that need to be addressed as TBLT moves forward. Anyone reading this should expect to come away with one hell-of-an understanding of TBLT, the research that supports TBLT, the arguments for and against (and responses to) as well as a clearer picture regarding how TBLT might be implemented in their teaching context.
Task-based language teaching is now a well-established pedagogic approach but problematic issues remain, such as whether it is appropriate for all learners and in all instructional contexts. This book draws on the author's experience of working with teachers, together with his knowledge of relevant research and theory, to examine the key issues. It proposes flexible ways in which tasks can be designed and implemented in the language classroom to address the problems that teachers often face with task-based language teaching. It will appeal to researchers and teachers who are interested in task-based language teaching and the practical and theoretical issues involved. It will also be of interest to students and researchers working in the areas of applied linguistics, TESOL and second language acquisition.
Rod Ellis has written (yet another) agenda-setting book, this time charting a journey through key issues in task-based language teaching. This is a must-read for researchers committed to the pedagogic relevance of their work, and for language educators in search of a deeper understanding of task-based research and pedagogy.
This comprehensive yet personal book will be invaluable reading for very diverse audiences. Synthesizing a lifetime of engagement with language education and tasks, Rod Ellis proposes an options-based approach that can be flexibly adapted across geographies and masterfully re-examines the quandaries cognitive and social researchers investigate through the questions teachers ask.
This review has recommended Reflections on Task-Based Language Teaching in particular to teacher educators and to researchers. However, classroom teachers
at whatever stage of their career will find plenty to guide them in their teaching.
Chapter 5, titled "Preparing learners to perform tasks," is one good example. This is a book which should sell well and which will probably give fresh ideas to classroom teachers, whether or not they are also researchers.
[This book] comprehensively examines the theoretical and pedagogic aspects of task-based language teaching (TBLT), one of the long-standing topics in instructed SLA, and offers insights into TBLT as an approach to second language teaching. Ellis' (2003) previous book, Task-based Language Learning and Teaching, focuses on research and theories underlying TBLT. The current book complements his previous work by shedding more light on pedagogic issues related to TBLT.
Rod Ellis is Research Professor in the School of Education, Curtin University, Australia, Emeritus Distinguished Professor, University of Auckland, New Zealand and a Visiting Professor at Shanghai International Studies University. He is also an Appointed Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand. He has researched and published extensively in the fields of second language acquisition, language teaching and teacher education.
The concept of 'task' is central to an understanding of task-based language teaching (TBLT); consequently, this chapter begins with a definition of a task. There follows a brief exposition of how TBLT developed out of communicative language teaching (CLT), followed by a comparison of task-supported language teaching (TSLT) and TBLT. In TSLT the learners' attention is directed to the specific target form that is the focus of a lesson in the presentation stage of presentation-practice-production (PPP), often by means of explicit description. While most of the task-based research has focused on the performance of individual tasks, task-based pedagogy needs to take a broader perspective by considering the design of complete task-based courses and the organization of task-based lessons. The input-based lessons lead to opportunities for learners to initiate discourse and to negotiate for both meaning and form. In contrast, the PPP lessons resulted primarily in initiate-respond-feedback (IRF) exchanges that are so ubiquitous in formal instruction.
Task-based language teaching (TBLT), also known as task-based instruction (TBI), focuses on the use of authentic language to complete meaningful tasks in the target language. Such tasks can include visiting a doctor, conducting an interview, or calling customer service for help. Assessment is primarily based on task outcome (the appropriate completion of real-world tasks) rather than on accuracy of prescribed language forms. This makes TBLT especially popular for developing target language fluency and student confidence. As such, TBLT can be considered a branch of communicative language teaching (CLT).
Task-based language learning has its origins in communicative language teaching, and is a subcategory of it. Educators adopted task-based language learning for a variety of reasons. Some moved to a task-based syllabus in an attempt to develop learner capacity to express meaning,[1] while others wanted to make language in the classroom truly communicative, rather than the pseudo-communication that results from classroom activities with no direct connection to real-life situations. Others, like Prabhu in the Bangalore Project, thought that tasks were a way of tapping into learners' natural mechanisms for second-language acquisition, and weren't concerned with real-life communication per se.[2]
TBLT was popularized by N. S. Prabhu while working in Bangalore, India, according to Jeremy Harmer.[3] Prabhu noticed that his students could learn language just as easily with a non-linguistic problem as when they were concentrating on linguistic questions. Major scholars who have done research in this area include Teresa P. Pica, Martin East, and Michael Long.
A concept, earlier known as the "communicative activity" in 1970s and 1980s[1] was later replaced by the term task has since been defined differently by different scholars. Willis (1996)[4] has defined a task as a goal based activity involving the use of the learners' existing language resources, that leads to the outcome. Examples include playing games, and solving problems and puzzles etc. Ellis (2003)[5] defines a task as a work plan that involves a pragmatic processing of language, using the learners' existing language resources and attention to meaning, and resulting in the completion of an outcome which can be assessed for its communicative function. David Nunan (2004) draws upon the definitions given by other experts, of two types of tasks: target tasks and pedagogical tasks. Targets tasks refer to doing something outside the classroom and in the real world; whereas pedagogical tasks refer to the tasks students perform inside the classroom and in response to target language input or processing. Nunan concludes that target tasks may be non-linguistic. He defines pedagogical task as a classroom activity that involves a student to understand and produce the target language while focusing on conveying the meaning and not being too concerned with form.[6] On the other hand, Long (1985) defines a task as things people do in everyday life.[7]
The core of the lesson or project is, as the name suggests, the task. Teachers and curriculum developers should bear in mind that any attention to form, i.e., grammar or vocabulary, increases the likelihood that learners may be distracted from the task itself and become preoccupied with detecting and correcting errors and/or looking up language in dictionaries and grammar references. Although there may be several effective frameworks for creating a task-based learning lesson, here is a basic outline:
In the pre-task, the teacher will present what will be expected from the students in the task phase. Additionally, in the "weak" form of TBLT, the teacher may prime the students with key vocabulary or grammatical constructs, although this can mean that the activity is, in effect, more similar to the more traditional present-practice-produce (PPP) paradigm. In "strong" task-based learning lessons, learners are responsible for selecting the appropriate language for any given context themselves. The instructors may also present a model of the task by either doing it themselves or by presenting picture, audio, or video demonstrating the task.[8]
If learners have created tangible linguistic products, e.g. text, montage, presentation, audio or video recording, learners can review each other's work and offer constructive feedback. If a task is set to extend over longer periods of time, e.g. weeks, and includes iterative cycles of constructive activity followed by review, TBLT can be seen as analogous to Project-based learning.[10]
Reasoning-gap activity, which involves deriving some new information from given information through processes of inference, deduction, practical reasoning, or a perception of relationships or patterns. One example is working out a teacher's timetable on the basis of given class timetables. Another is deciding what course of action is best (for example cheapest or quickest) for a given purpose and within given constraints. The activity necessarily involves comprehending and conveying information, as in an information-gap activity, but the information to be conveyed is not identical with that initially comprehended. There is a piece of reasoning which connects the two.
Opinion-gap activity, which involves identifying and articulating a personal preference, feeling, or attitude in response to a given situation. One example is story completion; another is taking part in the discussion of a social issue. The activity may involve using factual information and formulating arguments to justify one's opinion, but there is no objective procedure for demonstrating outcomes as right or wrong, and no reason to expect the same outcome from different individuals or on different occasions.[11]
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